The mercurial mishap at Minamata

​Minamata disease is a neurological syndrome caused by severe mercury poisoning.Symptoms include ataxia, numbness in the hands and feet, general muscle weakness, loss of peripheral vision, and damage to hearing and speech.

In extreme cases, insanity, paralysis, coma, and death follow within weeks of the onset of symptoms.

Minamata disease was first discovered in Minamata city, Japan, in 1956. It was caused by the release of methylmercury in the industrial wastewater from the Chisso Corporation's chemical factory, which continued from 1932 to 1968.

This highly toxic chemical accumulated in shellfish and fish in Minamata Bay and the Shiranui Sea, which, when eaten by the local populace, resulted in mercury poisoning.

While cat, dog, pig, and human deaths continued for 36 years, the government and company did little to prevent the pollution.

The animal effects were so severe in cats that they would suddenly convulse and sometimes leap into the sea to their deaths — townspeople referred to the behavior as "cat dancing disease."

Since this is a result of the toxins accumulating through the food chain, it is called Bioamplification, where the concentration of the pollutants increase as it moves higher up the food chain of organisms.

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“Here, here, come here”, called four-year old Natsume to his pet cat. “Drink this milk, Neko-chan.” The white kitten came sniffing towards Natsume.

He caught her in his hands and gently set her down in front of her bowl of milk. The kitten purred and lapped up the milk. “Very good, Neko-chan”, said Natsume happily.

“Why are you giving it only milk?” asked his mother, Suzume. “Here, feed it some fish. Do you want to make the cat like you?”

“My kitten doesn’t eat fish”, said Natsume obstinately. “I don’t eat it. My pet won’t eat it either. Will you, Neko-chan?”

But the kitten bounded up to his mother, who held out the fish for it. “Neko-chan!” cried Natsume, affronted. His mother laughed.

“You are not a Japanese boy”, she said, good-humouredly. “That’s why you don’t like to eat fish. But look at the cat! Neko is a Japanese cat, alright! I’m sure there’s no boy like you in this entire city of Minamata!”

Natsume wrinkled up his nose. “I hate the smell of fish”, he said. “It stinks!’

“How can you talk like that child?” said Suzume. “Just watch out. When your baby brother comes, he will definitely eat fish”, she teased him.

Just then, Natsume’s father, Takashi, returned home from work. Suzume, who was pregnant with her second child, got up slowly. “Look what I brought home” he said, smiling.

“Pooh! More fish!” complained Natsume, wrinkling his nose and running away. His parents laughed.
“How was work today?” asked Suzume, taking the lunch box and fresh fish from Takashi and starting to make tea.

“It was alright”, said Takashi. “Might get a pay hike soon. The company’s been making good profit.”
“Well, that’s good news for us”, said Suzume.

Takashi worked at Chisso corp., a company that made plastic and chemical fertilizers. Chisso was one of Minamata town’s biggest employers, and a very successful company. With a new family member expected, extra money was necessary.

“What has Natsume been up to the whole day?” asked his father.

“Playing with that kitten, what else?” said Suzume. “We should take him to the doctor. He seems to have caught a cold.”

“Well, what else can you expect if you let him play with that creature throughout the day? Must be cat hair that’s giving him the cold.”

So that evening, Natsume was bundled off to the friendly neighbourhood doctor. “Open your mouth, aaahhh!!!” said the old doctor.

Natsume opened his mouth, and the doctor promptly shoved in a glass thermometer. “Mmmph… mmpp.. I might … bite it”, and Natsume took it out of his mouth.

“You mustn’t bite it”, said the Doctor gravely. “If you bite it, you will die.”

“How?” Natsume wanted to know. “Because of the glass pieces?”

“No’, said the doctor. “Because of the mercury inside it. Ah, now that can kill you! So be a good boy and do not bite it.”

So Natsume held his breath, and the thermometer was at last removed, and Natsume let out a sigh of relief. “All normal”, declared the Doctor. “Just a slight cold. Keep away from your kitten for a few days!”

After coming back from the doctor’s, Takashi looked worried and uncomfortable. “What’s wrong?” asked his wife.

“I was just thinking about what the doctor said”, Takashi said thoughtfully. “The part about the mercury.”

“Well, what about it?” Suzume asked impatiently.

“Didn’t he say that mercury can kill? If that is true, then my company is killing the sea, and all of us, because it releases its waste into the bay. And the waste contains mercury.”

Suzume laughed. “How can you be so silly? If that were true, we would all be dead by now, wouldn’t we? The doctor said it to scare the child, that’s all.”

Takashi wasn’t convinced, but he didn’t know what he could do. How could he tell his seniors or company owners to stop pouring the waste into the bay?

If his wife was right, wouldn’t they laugh at him? At last, he decided to keep quiet and forget about it. Maybe he was getting worried unnecessarily. Suzume was probably right.

Meanwhile, Suzume took to feeding the cat, keeping Natsume away from it as far as possible.

Natsume had to contend with watching Neko from afar and stealthily patting it from time to time.

Then one day, Neko was nowhere to be seen. “Neko, Neko-chan!” called Natsume, but it wouldn’t come.

He went to the neighbours’ houses, and searched everywhere around his home, but couldn’t find it. Finally, he saw the cat wandering far away from home, going down to the beach.

“Neko!” he called out. But to his horror, the cat went straight on and jumped into the sea!

He ran back home, crying. “Neko’s gone! He jumped into the sea!”

Suzume consoled him. “Shhh, my child, it got the Dancing cat disease”, she said. “That’s why he did that. Do you remember Uncle Akito’s cat? It did the same.”

Of late, it had been a common sight. Many cats, mostly the pets, got the Dancing Cat disease, after which they all convulsed and jumped into the sea.

That night, Takashi came home happy, but sick. “I’ve got the pay hike”, he announced. But he went to bed soon after.

He could feel his vision growing blurred, and he couldn’t make sense of what was happening around him. The doctor came and had a look at him, but there was no improvement.

Suzume was worried. What was wrong? Before they could get him treated by another doctor, Takashi started suffering tremors, followed by paralysis. Before they could realize what was happening, he passed away.

Suzume was beside herself with grief. Taking Natsume with her, she went to her uncle’s home. A few days later, she gave birth to her second child. To her horror, the child was deformed.

“Don’t fret, my child”, said her uncle. “It is a curse on our city. Many children are being born this way. Have you not heard?”

Suzume felt weak after all that she had gone through. Yet, Natsume’s cheerful innocence kept her hopeful of a future.

Then one day, she started losing her vision herself. She remembered that she was facing Takashi’s same symptoms!

“What Takashi told me was right.. they are poisoning the water.. and we are all suffering.. the water we drink is from the pools.. but the fish we eat… it must be poisoned!”

Suzume had already collapsed. Natsume came running to her. Her last words were “Natsume… don’t eat the fish. Do you hear?”